Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Sold by Phocas Financial Corp.

Phocas Financial Corp. cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,550 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Insight Inv LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter worth $26,000. JDM Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter worth $29,000. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.7% in the third quarter. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC now owns 560 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 148.4% in the third quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 477 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 72.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $124.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total transaction of $103,922.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,256,842.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Abbott Laboratories news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total transaction of $68,375.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,427 shares in the company, valued at $7,091,998.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total value of $103,922.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,256,842.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,971 shares of company stock valued at $199,140. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

ABT stock opened at $97.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.88. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $93.25 and a 12-month high of $124.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $168.60 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.13. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 26.09% and a net margin of 15.88%. The firm had revenue of $10.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.38 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.17%.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.